A Vehicle Is Anything That Carries
A vehicle is a means of transport. The Latin means a carrier, which is why a play can be a vehicle for an actor.
A vehicle is a thing used for transporting people or goods. The Latin *vehiculum* means simply a carrier, from *vehere*, to carry — the same verb behind *convey* and *vector*. That is why English can speak of a film as a *vehicle* for a star, or a solvent as the vehicle carrying a drug.
- A means of transport. *An electric vehicle.*
- A means of expression. *The play was a vehicle for her talent.*
- A carrier substance. *An oil-based vehicle.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | vehicle | A heavy vehicle. |
| Plural | vehicles | Emergency vehicles. |
| Adjective | vehicular | Vehicular access. |
| Related | convey | Convey goods. |
| Related | vector | A disease vector. |
How it is used in a sentence
- No vehicles beyond this point.Signage.
- The film is a vehicle for its lead.Made to display one performer.
- Mosquitoes are a vector for malaria.From the same carrying root.
The carrying family
- Vehicle — a carrier
- Vector — a carrier of disease, or a directed quantity
- Convey — carry across
- Convex — carried together into a curve
- Inveigh — attack in words, from carrying against
From Latin *vehiculum*, from *vehere*, to carry or convey — an ancient root also behind English *wagon* and *way*.
Is a bicycle a vehicle?
In most road traffic law, yes. Definitions vary, but bicycles are usually treated as vehicles with their own rules.
Why is a film called a vehicle?
Because it carries a performer's talent to an audience. The role is the point and the story is the transport.